Gangrene
by minn's.star
Summary: The decay ate all of them from the inside out until the only way to live was to hold onto someone else equally as broken.    DenNor, Sufin, yuri. More information in author's note.
1. Chapter 1

Sometimes, Mikaela wondered if life wasn't just a big sick joke. Broken bones and too-soon funerals weren't really her type of humor, sure, but maybe that was just what real comedy looked like. People laugh at anything these days. Hell, even she laughed at the situation she was in- confused, disoriented, about to move to some off-the-map town that may as well be one million miles away.

The night that they had first bought up the m-word was a laugh. She remembered that dinner, so quiet and tense and awkward (as usual), when the old man finally cleared his throat as though he were going to say something momentous- and then said nothing at all. Trophy wife (she supposed most people would call her a step mother, but she really wasn't one) was the one to finally break the silence a few long minutes later.

_So, honey, I know this may be hard for you with all of your friends here and all, but…_

And then she hesitated again, and then he hesitated again, and then finally one of them mumbled something under their breath and it took Mikaela a full minute to discern what had been said. And when she did, she grinned- apparently they thought that they were moving.

_Great_, she told them. _Fucking boring around here anyway_. And then she humored them by sitting through the rest of the uncomfortable dinner and _talking about it_, watching the man raise a brow at her taking it so well. _I can take a joke, _she had wanted to say, as the other two fidgeted uncomfortably in their seats like they were serious or something. But, she didn't say it. She pretended right along with them. Wasn't she just so generous, playing along with their silly little whims?

She paid no attention to the weeks after when the man started getting calls from his 'new company' (is that what they call phone sex these days?) and she didn't really think much of it when they started printing out pictures of some nice house on the internet (way nicer than they ever had, that was for sure), but then the boxes came. The boxes actually bothered her a little- but just a little. At least until she woke up and found piles and piles of those boxes stacked throughout the house. They were actually _filled_ with stuff that they used on a day to day basis. The boxes suddenly bothered her a lot more at that point. It had taken her fifteen minutes just to find the box with her hair wax, and ten more to find the box that held her favorite boots- oh hell she was pissed.

And that was when she realized that they probably thought that they were being serious about this whole moving thing.

She hadn't been entirely sure how to react at that point. She wasn't necessarily upset- she wasn't kidding when she said nothing ever happened- but she was a bit stunned. So the old man finally decided to do something with his life? It was probably from that pretty little whore he married oh, maybe a few months ago. The trophy wife. Did he actually care that much about impressing her? (He _never_ cared about impressing mom that much.) The notion was almost enough to make Mikaela laugh.

But still, she wasn't able to swallow the idea. She actually started looking at the house in the picture, actually started looking at the map that they were supposed to take, and it all seemed so surreal still. It didn't feel any less unrealistic when they offered to let her skip school to get the car ready- she had always thought that hell would freeze over before she was actually encouraged to cut class, but she didn't see any ice yet.

So here she was, staring at the wall of cardboard in front of her, and not any more able to process what was happening. She tongued her lip ring, tasting the cold metal and wondering if it was more likely that the piercing would get infected again (like it had when she had first done it years ago with an apple slice and a safety pin) or that they were actually going through with this bat-shit crazy idea.

A moving man tapped her on the shoulder and politely informed her that she needed to move over so that they could close the back of the truck. Slowly, she walked towards the 'family' car (ha! Like they were ever a family) and climbed in back, starting to wonder if it was really a good idea to let them ship her car- she kind of wanted to drive alone now.

Too late. The old man turned the keys and started out the driveway, and her ride was probably half way there by now.

* * *

><p>She never saw the roads that they took. Nor did she see any of the towns they passed through or the lack of other cars in front of and behind them. Somehow, Mikaela managed to sleep the entire time. Depression? No. She was still too shocked to be depressed. It was probably just fatigue. Of course, it's not like she could possibly think so coherently so deep in her back-seat slumber. Sleep was never meant for thinking, anyway. That was why she slept.<p>

With no idea how much time had passed, she eventually woke up to an unfamiliar stretch of road out her window with pretty houses trimming the sides. Was she going to live in one of those? Those nice little houses that people sometimes called home?

This really was a bat-shit crazy idea.

Eventually, they stopped. It took her a minute to register what was happening when she was handed a key, and a minute more to get out of the car. It took her two to stop staring and walk up the driveway, three to climb the stairs and look at the room was supposed to be hers, and three days to help the old man heave boxes in while the trophy wife occasionally did something useful. And still, nothing really seemed to sink in.

So, come Monday when she actually had to get to her new school, she found herself behind the driver's wheel of her car when she realized that she had no idea where she was going. She went back in and looked around the kitchen table for some sort of map, and eventually managed to find one of only the town and not every road that they had taken to get there. When she carried it back into her car she realized she still didn't know what road she was on, but decided to wing it. Consequently, the first road she took was in the exact opposite direction.

After a little over half an hour of driving down unfamiliar roads, she finally managed to get to the school. She parked, cut the engine, and closed her eyes for a minute. It was true, wasn't it? This was a new town. She was actually in a different reality than she was three days ago, living a new life, at a new school, with new people to deal with. She was re-starting from scratch. Fuck.

That meant… well, it meant a lot of things, more of which she would think about later, but her immediate concern was how to out herself here. It was a big enough deal to everyone when she came out the first time, and that was in a pretty liberal, urban area. Now she would have to do it all over again, in this little off-the-chart town where people probably didn't even know that lesbians were _real_ and not anything like in porn.

Hiding wasn't an option. She sure as hell wasn't staying in the closet, even if she had to get up on a lunch table and scream it out so that all of the little fuckers heard her. That would probably get her into quite a few fights, but she was willing to deal- sometimes sacrifices had to be made. Popularity was probably going to be one of them. Now realizing that she was finally taking things seriously, she mentally praised herself and took a deep breath. Breathe. Maybe if she just turned on the charm the first few weeks and got a few friends it wouldn't be such a big deal when she came out. Teens would go with _anything_ if the cool kids were doing it. Good plan. Her charisma could carry her far.

She took another minute in the car, mentally preparing herself to re-open her eyes and take things seriously now. Real life, real place, real things that happen in real life in real places were about to happen. Slowly she opened her eyes, everything suddenly standing out to her so much more. She reached for the door and stepped out slowly, grabbing her messenger bag from the passenger seat before closing and locking the car and walking towards the front of the building. There were still kids outside when she got there, talking, laughing, like normal teens tend to do. Opening the nearest door, she decided that maybe she'd look around a bit.

She wasn't at all expecting what she found.

There, right _there_ in front of her were two girls, limbs tangled together and mouths occupied in a battle for dominance- in this town that she had just accused of being homophobic. She wasn't entirely sure what to think, except for that it was strangely hot.

"Damn." She said in surprise, not realizing she had said it aloud until the girl with pigtails and somewhat prominent eyebrows broke the kiss and almost jumped a little, obviously startled.

"Bloody hell Julchen! You can't just-" She suddenly stopped short when she saw Mikaela standing there and her eyes widened a little.

"O-oh…" She mumbled, looking away from Mikaela as though she was suddenly embarrassed. "S-sorry. You just sounded so much like…"

Once the girl had trailed off, unable to finish, the other stepped forward. Her cow-girl style boots made noticeable thuds as they hit the tile, and the bomber jacket that she wore was definitely at least a size too large. She stopped a few feet in front of Mikaela, hands on her tilted hips.

"Ya' ever heard 'a knocking? C'mon, ya' owe the hero at least that courtesy." She said, not so much annoyed as almost amused. Her short, curled locks bobbed while she talked, blue eyes almost sparkling with some sort of mischief Mikaela could have sworn she'd seen before- did she look like that, once?

"Amelia! Use. Proper. English. You're considered a heroine, you're a girl." The other cut her off, pouting slightly. She straightened her glasses a little as though it was supposed to make the other take her more seriously, but it only earned a laugh from the so-called hero.

"No, Alice, I'm the hero! Everyone knows that! Right?" Amelia said, looking to Mikaela for help.

"Uh, sure-" Mikaela was cut off by the pig-tailed girl again.

"Git! Don't just drag people you don't even know into this!"

"Ah ha ha ha! You're just mad because she agreed with me!"

"You are such a bloody wanker!"

"But you love me." Amelia drawled, a cautious smile on her face. She walked back over to Alice, reaching out and taking her hand before pressing a kiss against her forehead. The shorter of the two sighed slightly, as though defeated.

"But I love you."

At that, Amelia grinned even wider and picked the British girl up (who squirmed a little), before looking back over to Mikaela.

"Room's all yours now dude! Catch ya' later!" Amelia almost yelled, carrying Alice out of the room to continue their business elsewhere. That left Mikaela alone with her thoughts, which mostly consisted of one question: What the fuck just happened?

Walking over to a desk, she sat down and rubbed at her temples for a moment while she thought. Okay. So maybe people were more open minded than she had initially thought. It wasn't like she should have been so surprised- teenagers did things like that all the time, and she almost felt ashamed for being startled on account of the fact that it was two girls. Talk about hypocritical. It was comforting, though, to know that she was obviously not the only lesbian in the school. She would be just fine. Hell, maybe she'd run into those two again later. Eyebrows seemed a little uptight but the other was fun.

She stood up again, considerably more confident than before, and walked out the door that Amelia had left out of. She wasn't entirely sure what room she had been in, but now she supposed that she was in one of the hallways of the school… somewhere… Fuck. Maybe she should have asked for directions before those two left.

Eventually she got so lost that she actually found the office. The ladies at the desk seemed almost sympathetic to the poor misplaced girl that transferred in at random; she could tell by the way that they smiled and nodded at her while they gave her the schedule. Lots of people smiled at her like that, especially the nurses when they tried to ask her about-

Well. No point in dwelling on the past.

So she walked through the hallways, map and schedule in hand, looking for her first period class. It was a lot easier to navigate with some idea of where she was going, and she found herself at a door that was probably the correct one. Taking a breath, she stopped just before it and waited for a minute. She could hear the dull murmur of a few people's conversation, and pencils scratching across homework that should have been done last evening. It wasn't like it was that strange- so why was her heart pounding like it had been the first day of fucking kindergarten? She really needed to get a grip on herself.

After another minute she swallowed her apprehension and stepped in. The room wasn't nearly full yet, but there were a few people present. Each one made her want to smack herself silly for worrying that her sexuality would be some big deal.

In the left corner there was a couple cuddling- yes, cuddling- in a desk chair, a brunette very patiently watching the blonde flail around with her hands as she tried to relay a very outrageous story about a pony. Occasionally the darker haired girl laughed a little, and blondie would smile just a little wider than she had been- it was sweet, Mikaela found herself thinking. She only let her eyes linger a little longer before she started to feel some pangs in her chest. She refocused her attention closer to the center of the room where there was a girl holding what looked to be a stuffed bear. She looked very engrossed in her textbook, and if it weren't for the various rainbow pins on her bag Mikaela almost would have missed her. The bag was more noticeable than her, for crying out loud.

After unsuccessfully trying to read the too-small text on some of the pins, Mikaela gave up and continued surveying the room. It almost felt like someone was watching her, she could feel holes burning in the back of her head… She jumped a few feet when she noticed the girl in the desk right next to her, practically glaring daggers at her.

"Fuckshit!" Mikaela cursed almost incoherently under her breath as she stumbled back. How had she not noticed the girl right next to her? She had been pretty quiet, the Dane admitted to herself, but still- she wasn't usually that oblivious. The girl fixed her glasses a little and looked up at Mikaela almost apologetically (but still menacingly, Mikaela added in her head) before speaking.

"Sorry. Didn' mean ta' scare ya'." She said. She did sound sincere, Mikaela noted, even if she did look like she was going to kill something. Still though, she was pretty sure that she would be safe seeing as this girl had at least five minutes to attack had that been her intention. So, having established this girl wasn't going to kill _her_, at least, she took a minute to actually look her over. Besides the slight glare on her face, she was kind of pretty in a rugged sort of way. She wore a button down flannel (not unlike some of Mikaela's own shirts) and combat boots were laced tight over what appeared to be skinny jeans. Her aquamarine eyes stood out against her pale skin, and even her bangs couldn't dim down their intensity.

"Heh, s'cool. Didn't see you there…" Mikaela offered, realizing she had been staring for a little too long.

"Mmhm. Never seen ya' 'round here before." The girl replied.

Well, at least someone was somewhat observant around here. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised that no one had said anything yet seeing as Amelia and Alice were the only ones that she had (very briefly) encountered, but it was still a shock that no one had even turned their head to look at her before this. She responded, deciding to try and make friends with the slightly intimidating girl.

"Yeah, just got here. My name's Mikaela Densen, and you?..."

"Svea Oxenstierna."

"Cool, great to meet you… maybe you can help me out here." Mikaela suggested hopefully. Svea looked up at her curiously.

"Ya' lost?"

"Well, er… not technically, but-" Mikaela was cut off by a girl running into the room, right towards them- well, Svea anyway. No one else even knew Mikaela yet.

This one was pretty too, she noted. She had a button down shirt that was popped open on the top, giving a nice show of cleavage, and a skirt that only hit mid-thigh. Her pink lips were parted a little (probably from running from wherever she came from) and her eyes looked almost violet. She ran her fingers through glossy blonde hair, tucking a few rogue strands behind her ear before she spoke.

"I'm so sorry darling, I didn't expect it to take that long." The violet eyed girl said between breaths, looking to Svea apologetically.

"Got lucky there, didn't you Svea?" Mikaela cut in, an obvious reference to the girl's chest size.

Tiina looked over and Svea narrowed her eyes at Mikaela, now seriously glaring. She hated it when people eyed up her wife like that, and especially when they said such crass things about her after. Sure, Tiina didn't seem to care much anymore, but Svea sure as hell did. She had to protect her wife's honor, after all.

"Watch it." She warned, causing Mikaela to throw her hands up in some form of surrender.

"I'm not after her, relax! She's all yours buddy." The Dane assured.

"Svea, who's this?" Tiina asked, moving a bit closer to her girlfriend. Svea looped an arm around her waist before she spoke.

"Tiina, Mikaela. Mikaela, Tiina." She introduced, rubbing her lover's waist.

Tiina nodded and offered a 'nice to meet you' before turning her full attention back over to Svea. She looked so tired today… instinctively she pulled her lover's head against her chest to listen to her heartbeat and stoked her hair, willing her to relax. If it was one thing that she had learned about the Swede, it was that she took in everything around her- the good, the bad, the trivial- and that just wiped her out completely. Sometimes (this being one of those times) the Finnish girl wanted to make Svea forget everything but the two of them for just a minute- at least she looked happy then, even if she was still tired. Her suspicions were confirmed as Svea's eyes closed and her lips moved into that soft half-smile that was uniquely hers.

The new girl could wait for a moment.

Mikaela chewed her lip a little and turned away from the couple, opting to instead try to read the pins on that girl's bag again until they were finished. She was just starting to be able to make out the first line of the bigger one before she felt a cold hand tap her shoulder. She spun around to see a particularly tall girl staring down at her, eyes wild and smile predatory.

"Priviet, Komerade. I see you have found my Matilda, da?" She asked, heavy Russian accent dripping with venom.

Mikaela shuddered, suddenly extremely uncomfortable, and swallowed. "That's her name?" She asked, trying to sound calm. She then noticed the two girls behind the taller one, both trembling and looking as though they would bolt if they weren't so terrified of what would happen if they did.

"Correct. It is pretty, like her, da?" Anya asked almost playfully, still smiling. She had never seen this person before, but she certainly did not like the way that she was looking at _her_ Matilda. No one stared at her friends like that, and Matilda was even more special than the rest of them- she wasn't sharing Matilda. She already had to share Tori with Felicyta, and that was more than enough sharing in her book.

"Yeah…" Mikaela agreed, backing up a little from the taller girl. What the fuck was her problem?

"Was that a yes?" Anya asked, giggling. Oh dear. She couldn't have someone wanting what was hers now, could she? She started to back Mikaela against the black board, getting ready to defend her girlfriend. Eliisabet covered her eyes while Raiva trembled.

Mikaela inferred what was about to happen by the two other girl's reactions. She hated, _hated_ having to fight a girl, but this bitch was definitely initiating it and she sure as hell wasn't about to sit there and let herself get wailed on. She stood up straight and clenched her fists, about to respond when they were interrupted.

"Anya!" Svea's voice thundered, making everyone turn and look. "She's new, she dunno any better. Leave 'er alone."

Anya pouted, not much unlike a child, and stepped away from Mikaela. Although she would never admit it upfront she knew that Svea was a fierce fighter, and Tiina equally as strong. There was no need to try and fight those two. It would not end in her favor.

"Well, Komerade, since you are new here, I will offer a word of advice: do not stare Matilda like that. It makes me very unhappy." She giggled, the girls behind her still wide eyed and nervous. Mikaela just shrugged.

"Alright." She agreed. No need to get into a pointless fight. Obviously people were just really possessive around here.

"Very good! We shall be good friends, da?" Anya giggled. And at that, she walked over to Matilda, wrapping her up in what looked like a bone crushing hug all the way from where Mikaela was standing.

"Oh my god you're alive!" The girl that had been introduced as Eliisabet squeaked. Tiina rushed over too, pulling Svea by the wrist through the people that were starting to file into the room.

"Are you okay?" Tiina asked once she got to her. "I'm sorry, that's just Anya, she's um… like that."

Mikaela tilted her head, and then looked to Svea.

"Dun worry about 'er. She'll calm down once she knows ya." Svea assured. "We'll introduce ya' to the other's a' lunch, but class's about ta' start."

Mikaela nodded, honestly grateful that they had to stop their 'introductions' for now. That had been quite enough excitement for one hour. Still though, she couldn't help but look forward to the rest of the year. She had a feeling that it was going to be way better than any she had went through so far, and for the first time in the entire move she felt almost refreshed.

The bell for class rang, and she cut her musings short for the moment. Where the hell was she supposed to sit?

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Hey guys- I've been dead off of here a while, huh? I'm really sorry about that. Life just keeps happening, it really needs to chill. Anyway, all non-sense aside I really am sorry I haven't updated choke yet for those of you who follow it. I promise you all it is getting worked on.<p>

ONTO THIS STORY: So, I really debated over this for a long time. I know that there's not a lot of Hetalia yuri out there, and especially not with the Nyotalia cast, so it's kind of unclear to me how this piece will be recieved. To be honest it makes me a little nervous, but I still really, really wanted to write this. So why not put it out there, seeing as it's being written either way? I figured I may as well give it a try.

That being said, if you're reading this you have probably decided to give this a try too. Welcome! Happy to have you along for the ride.

To clear some things up, I'm putting all of the names I've chosen here:

Mikaela- Denmark; Nora- Norway; Svea- Sweden; Tiina- Finland; Anya- Russia; Matilda- Canada; Eliisabet- Estonia; Raiva- Latvia; Paige- Sealand; Felicyta- Poland; Tori- Lithuania; Amelia- America; Alice- England; Julchen- Prussia; Roseline- Austria; Marianne- France; Anicia- Spain; Maria- South Italy; Felicia- North Italy; Liesel- Germany; Keiko- Japan; Heraclea- Greece (Humour me?)

As for pairings:

DenNor, SuFin, RussCan, SeaLat, Poliet, USUK, Spamano, PruAus, GerIta, Gripan FrancexJeanne (it's a guilty pleasure, just read over it if it bothers you)

Warnings?: Well, just be aware that yes there will be some very explicit girl on girl sex, and some of it may not be vanilla.

Thank you for reading all the way down here! Reviews make my whole day brighter, and they only take a minute- please leave one, if you have the time?


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually Mikaela did find a seat, after being instructed to 'just sit wherever'. The teacher was definitely kind of a deadbeat- a well meaning deadbeat who asked if Mikaela was feeling alright, but a deadbeat never the less. She didn't care, though. The less structure the better. She ended up sitting behind Svea.

Apparently this school still had homeroom every day. Mikaela couldn't remember that last time that she had ever heard of a school that still had homeroom daily (hers just barely saw each other every few months), and the new routine proved that the little town was even more cut off than she had initially thought. The teacher even knew everyone's name- well, except for hers. But soon, soon she would. They always seemed to learn her name quickly.

After role was taken, Mikaela tapped Svea on the shoulder and then held up her schedule once the other girl turned around, regretfully having to halt her conversation with Tiina.

"Hej- ah, do you know where any of these places are?" She asked, gesturing to her schedule. The school wasn't very big at all, but it was old and had confusing hallways. Knowing her luck she'd end up exactly opposite of where she needed to be.

Svea nodded. "Been comin' here a long time. Ah can help ya, 'n almost anyone here'll be fine with givin' directions. Lemme see what ya' have next."

Mikaela gave her the schedule, and Svea nodded as she read through it. "Ah have math next too. Ya' can walk with Tiina 'n ah. We'll figure out the rest when we get there."

The Danish girl nodded and thanked her, then sat through an uneventful ten minutes before they got up and started their trek to the next class. Tiina was babbling on about something they watched on TV last night, which Svea occasionally 'mm-'-ed or nodded to, and Mikaela was mentally noting landmarks in the school. She wasn't really sure how long Svea would keep her around- it almost seemed like it may be possible for them to be friends, but for some reason it felt so wrong having Tiina there. She got the impression that Svea thought she was after her girlfriend, which she wasn't. It was like people here thought she was without standards or something, which admittedly was quite annoying.

After a not too long walk (but still confusing as hell) Svea waved her into a room. Almost all heads turned towards her, some curious and some simply roused from their half-sleep on the desks. This teacher seemed far more put together than the last, and already had Mikaela's seat chosen.

"Dear, Julchen is a little- well…" The teacher trailed off, rocking on her heels a little as she searched for a delicate way to describe the self-proclaimed "Prussian" girl.

"Awesome!" A voice called from the back of the room. Mikaela turned to see a girl with almost silvery hair and plenty of cartilage piercings grinning wide at her. She radiated some freakish mix of charisma and narcissism, but hell she looked like she'd be a lot of fun to be around. She couldn't help but grin back- she seemed to be the most 'awesome' person she had seen so far.

"Difficult." The woman decided on. "So if you need your seat changed, by all means let me know. It was just the only one available and-,"

"It's cool," Mikaela said with a smile, "I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

Julchen let out a woot and Mikaela made her way back, taking a seat next to the silverette and earning a high-five.

"You can just call me Gil if you want. Everyone else does. And what should the awesome me refer to you as?" Julchen asked, eyes sparkling with something that they never quite lacked.

Mikaela, though wondering where Gil came from, just shrugged it off. "My name's Mikaela Densen, Mikaela or Mik is fine." She said. No one had ever really called her Mik before because it never really caught on at her old school, but she did like the name and this girl almost made her feel obligated to give some sort of nick-name.

"Alrighty Mik." She grinned.

It was only a few more seconds before the bell rang. Most students got their materials out, pencils and paper and calculators, and Julchen was no exception. Mikaela followed her lead, pulling out a blank notebook and opening up to the first page. Her pencil scratched against the shit-grade paper as she copied a formula down, and then a few examples after. It wasn't long before the lesson seemed repetitive, and after about three examples the Dane felt a nudge to her leg. Looking to the sensation she realized it was Julchen's foot.

"This lady'll go on for hours if you let her. Really, the lesson is basically done by now."

Mikaela nodded. "So… what do you do now?" She asked.

"Eh, well usually I contemplate ways to use my awesomeness, but seeing as you're here we should talk. Lady never bothers trying to keep me engrossed much anymore." She grinned.

"Why's that?" Mikaela asked, tilting her head.

"One, I'm awesome. Two, I'm passing this class still so she can't use the 'you're doing poorly' excuse. And three, she knows she loves me." The Prussian chuckled.

Mikaela nodded again, and Julchen yawned and stretched back in her chair before sitting back up properly. "So. You're new here. How much do you know?"

"Ah… Anya doesn't like people looking at Matilda and Svea's with Tiina?" Mikaela asked.

"Holy shit ANYA was your welcoming committee? That woman is fucking insane!" Julchen whisper-yelled. Her reddish eyes were wide and almost a little nervous. Mikaela looked around, and after determining that Svea and Tiina were too far up the rows to hear her she spoke.

"Well, I met Svea first but then she and Tiina got all touchy feely so I was kinda on my own…" Mikaela explained, with a shrug.

"Pfft, those two are always touchy feely. And shit, I am so sorry you had to see that maniac. Seriously, she gives me the fucking creeps. I swear to god I lose four eyelashes every time she gets too close." The Prussian shuddered. Deciding not to think too hard on the eyelash comment, Mikaela let herself ask another question.

"So um… I guess you and her don't get along."

"Anya doesn't get along with anyone except for Matilda, Eliisabet, Raiva and Tori, and that's because Tori's too scared to tell her to leave them alone, and Matilda…well, Mattie has some problems with herself. I think she seriously likes the lunatic- totally un-awesome."

"What kind of problems?" The Dane pressed, intrigued.

"You know, bad self-image and self-worth and all that shit. Probably hangs around Anya for the attention. She might be kinky too- like a masochist and stuff. I don't really know, people say she is. But Amelia usually decks anyone who makes Mattie uncomfortable so no one really gets to ask her how much is true."

"So she and Amelia are friends." Mikaela tried to confirm.

"Well yeah, but that's because they're sisters. Twins, actually- well, almost. They're a little different."

"I could see that." The Danish girl smiled. Those two didn't seem anything alike when she had seen them. They definitely didn't act it, anyway.

"Yeah- most people don't even guess that they're related until they're told. Kind of funny, actually." Julchen chuckled. "Anyway… hm, what else is awesome?..."

While Julchen contemplated her next topic, Mikaela let her eyes wander around the room. There was nothing too terribly interesting going on. Some kids near her were half-heartedly flicking a paper foot-ball, and a gum-chewing girl was scribbling away at a note in sparkly pink gel-pen, and plenty of students were still scribbling notes down. Deciding there was nothing really worth looking at; she turned her head to the window and saw Tiina tracing something on her arm with her fingertips. It looked as though she was just barely ghosting the skin she traced, and Mikaela almost mistook the darkened scrapes for shadows until she moved onto the next arm and traced again, same pattern, same scrapes that didn't fade like a shadow would have once her hand moved away.

Cutter? She had to be. Mikaela had seen kids at her old school try and hide it, and in a sick sort of way she couldn't help but laugh at the way their eyes skittered across the room as though they were a squirrel in the middle of the road. Dumb-shits should know that the best way to hide was to act absolutely natural. No one would catch you if you acted normal. After continuing to watch the sort of ritual, she realized that the cuts were strangely placed. Fuck they almost looked curvy- was she an artist or something, too?

"Hey." Mikaela started, voice hushed, "Is Tiina… um…"

Julchen looked up and over to the Finnish girl as though it weren't a sight to see at first, but after remembering Mikaela was watching she swallowed awkwardly. "Well… I'm kind of not supposed to talk about that."

"Why not?" Mikaela asked, not angry but curious. It looked pretty straight forward to her.

"Well… there was a lot of stuff that led up to that. It's really, really a long story, and only people in our… ah. I've never had to explain this before. We kind of have a really awesome group, and only people in the awesome group really know the whole story. I mean, the school vaguely knows, and if you asked around and stuff I'm sure that you'd be able to figure something out… but really, there's a lot to it." She fumbled.

"What, did she try to kill herself?" Mikaela asked, trying to help Julchen along.

"Well, kind of- ah, not really. Not her- well technically… fuck. How long do you plan on being here?"

"A while. The old man won't move again at least 'till I'm out of the house, the wife likes the place too much."

Julchen nodded. "Well, here's the deal- since you're kind of awesome and stuff, and you'll probably be hanging around a while, I'll tell you sometime. It just can't be here, or now. But eventually, I'll find time to tell you- okay?"

Grateful, Mikaela smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"Yeah," Julchen said, lowering her voice again. "We all talk about it. Just cause we're not supposed to doesn't mean we don't, but you have to be careful what you say, who you say it to and where you say it… it's still kind of a touchy subject."

Mikaela nodded in understanding, and the lack of words allowed Julchen to change the subject.

"Oh! I need to introduce you to the bad touch trio."

"The what?"

"My two most awesome friends in the world!" Julchen defined, as though it were common knowledge. "Marianna and Anicia. We've been friends since we were like, two or something crazy awesome like that. Anyway, they'd think you were awesome too, therefore you should meet them."

Mikaela laughed slightly. "Well, thank you. I'll look forward to it."

More time passed, and eventually the teacher stopped class to talk about homework. Mikaela was nudged again by Julchen, who was packing her stuff back into her back, and the Dane took the cue to start getting ready for next period. The bell rang only one second later.

* * *

><p>The next two periods flew by pretty quickly. Julchen ended up introducing her to Liesel, who helped her get to her next few classes because she didn't see the Prussian again until after lunch. Liesel was considerably more serious than Julchen, and she told Mikaela more about school policies, events, and other such things. While it wasn't as interesting as the things Julchen told her, she did appreciate not having to read through that rule book she had been given earlier. Besides, she was pretty sure the German girl meant well, even if she was kind of uptight. Her girlfriend, klutzy and silly but also pretty and good-intentioned, seemed to balance her out.<p>

It was Liesel who helped Mikaela get to the cafeteria, and Svea promptly thanked her upon their arrival. It occurred to her then that the Swede seemed to hold some position of authority in the group that Julchen described earlier. It would probably be in her best interest to at least try to stay friends with her; getting ahead was never a bad thing. She seemed considerably more approachable than she had this morning, minus the glare, so she decided she'd make an effort. Svea had Tiina to her right and gave the seat on her left to Mikaela, who gratefully accepted.

"Everyone," The Swedish girl started once they were all seated. "This is Mikaela. She's new. Could all'a ya' introduce yerselves if ya' haven't already?"

Julchen spoke first. "Mik, this," she pointed to a girl with brown-blonde hair tied into a loose, curly bun. "is Marianna. And she," The Prussian pointed to a girl with short, brown hair and a great smile "is Anicia. They were the ones I was telling you about."

Mikaela grinned and gave a hello, and Marianna smiled and waggled her fingers.

"Bonjour mon amie. Je suis Marianna, et elle est Jeanne, mon amour~." She smiled. Her voice had a slur and a lilt to it, and it was almost seductive. Jeanne spoke next. "She said that she is Marianna, and I am Joan-"

"And that she is my love! You mustn't forget that." Marianna cried melodramatically, clasping her heart, and earning smile from Jeanne.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mikaela." She half laughed. After Mikaela returned the greeting Anicia took a turn talking.

"¡Bienvenidos amiga! It's great to meet you." Anicia said. She turned to a girl next to her with longer brown hair and a curl that just wouldn't stay in her headband bouncing as she ate her lunch. "Mariaaaaaa, say hi!" The Spaniard whined.

"Mpph eaphing." The girl tried quietly, mouth full.

"Say hi Lovi! Come on, she's our new friend." She smiled.

At that, Maria swallowed, pouting at the taller girl. "Bastard. You know I hate it when you call me that!" She whined.

"But it's cute! Now come on, say ¡hola!" Anicia prompted again.

"You have one fucked up version of 'cute'." She said to Anicia, but then turned to Mikaela. "My name's Maria. Nice to meet you." She offered.

"Nice to meet you too." Mikaela responded. She looked so much like Liesel's girlfriend (whose name she had already forgotten) that she almost wanted to ask if they were related. Maria read her mind.

"Before you ask or try not to ask, yes Felicia and I are related." She confirmed.

"Ah, thanks." She said, grinning sheepishly. So that was her name.

"Ve, and she's the best sister ever!" Felicia sang, happily eating spaghetti that she had packed in a Tupperware container with a plastic fork. Maria scowled, but a smile shone in her eyes.

"Hey, don't we have like, three pairs of sisters here?" Amelia asked, trying to remember.

"Four if you count the little monster." Alice said, rubbing her temples.

"Alice, Paige isn't that bad. And I don't really know if Mikaela will get to meet her but hey, she can count as one." Amelia smiled.

"Who's Paige?" Mikaela asked.

"Oh, she's Alice's little sister." Amelia explained. "And my baby sister is Mattie!"

"Amelia, I'm not that much younger than you." Matilda sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be heard as usual. Anya hugged her shoulders gently.

"You're definitely smarter." She half-cooed, earning a soft smile from Matilda.

"Commie, get your hands off of my sister!" Amelia yelled across the table. Mikaela jumped, and Julchen gave her a (horrified) and meaningful look as though to confirm her earlier speculations about the two.

"Nyet. I can hug my friend, da?" Anya smiled. Amelia was fuming.

"I swear to god if you don't let go of her right now I will go over there and-"

"Amelia." Svea cut in firmly. "We don't need any fightin' here."

Pouting, Amelia slumped back down in her seat and Alice tried to console her to the best of her ability. Tori, hating to see her two friends at odds, tried to change the subject by moving the introductions along.

"Hello Mikaela. My name's Tori and this is Felicyta." She introduced, gesturing to the blonde girl that was hiding behind her shoulder. The blonde mumbled something, and Tori nodded a little.

"Felicyta wanted me to tell you she likes ponies." She added.

Mikaela nodded. "Nice to meet you Tori, Felicyta." She responded. It was kind of strange to her to see the girl hiding there but communicating anyway. Sure, she had seen a couple of strange things so far, but that one was downright confusing. She never saw this at her old school- at least things were interesting here.

Eliisabet and Raiva simply said hi again, and the next girl up had fallen asleep on the table. Her cheek was pressed against the surface and her hair stood up and curled a little towards the top of her head. A loose jacket was draped over her shoulders, and the girl next to her seemed to be considering waking her. Deciding against it, she faced Mikaela and bowed slightly.

"I apologize. Hera-san has a tendency of falling asleep at very inopportune moments. My name is Keiko, and her name is Heraclea. It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl said softly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you too." She greeted, smiling.

"Did everyone get a chance to speak?" Svea asked. "Did we miss anyone?"

Mikaela let her eyes roam the table, trying to make out any faces that she may have missed, when suddenly something caught her eye. Not at her table, but in the corner of the room, was possibly the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.

As cliché as it may have sounded, that was the only way Mikaela could think of to describe her. Her face was flawless, pale and smooth and porcelain and her lips looked as stark a contrast as blood against snow. Her hair was a rich golden colour that brushed her collar bones whenever she so much as breathed, and her thin, delicate fingers ghosted over the surface of the pages of the book that she was reading. Her pretty, navy blue and sailor-esque dress made her look like a perfect little doll, and Mikaela had to fight the urge to walk over and touch her to see if she was warm and real and not some statuette. She was, simply put, gorgeous.

"Her." Mikaela said. "We missed her."

Svea looked in the direction of where Mikaela was looking, Julchen's gaze following with hers. Svea raised an eyebrow (the most expression she had seen out of the Swede all day) and Julchen almost choked on her drink.

"Do you _want_ to die! That's Nora Bondevik." Julchen explained.

"She's gorgeous…" Mikaela murmured.

"And bitter as fuck." Julchen added. "Seriously, she fucking hates everyone. Felicia couldn't even make the ice-bitch warm up and Felicia's the nicest person here." It was true. Once in vain, the Italian spent a few weeks trying to get the Norwegian girl to hang out with them, trailing her in the hallway and even going so far as to make her pasta. Still, though Nora was gentler to her than she may have been to some others, she shut Felicia out after about a week.

"But she looks so… soft." Mikaela said, eyes still fixed on the girl.

"Pfft. She's sharp as a knife and faster than a fucking bullet. She'll probably rip your face off if you get too close."

"I heard one day, someone tried to ask her for the homework, and she clocked them for walking too close to her!" Tiina nodded, more re-telling the strange rumour to herself than anyone else. Svea, not about to chastise her beloved, simply pulled her into her arms and cradled her. Once the girl relaxed against her Svea shook her head and mouthed no, causing Mikaela to laugh a little.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that was true." Julchen piped up. "Really Mik- we tried to make friends with her-,"

"And we still are." Svea cut in. "Haven' given up yet."

"But she just shuts everyone down. Seriously, if you wanna get laid she is _not_ the girl to go to. There are easier one's out there."

"I'm not looking for mindless sex." Mikaela insisted. "I just… want to know her, you know? She looks interesting."

"She's interesting alright." Julchen mumbled, and the Marianna spoke.

"Mik, mon amie, Julchen is just bitter because mademoiselle Nora didn't believe in her 'awesomeness'." The French woman laughed. It was a full, flowing laugh, and it sounded more like music than anything. "But really, pursuing her is like Dante's ante-inferno. You'd be forever chasing her, and never quite laying a hand on her for all of the pain it caused you. Ah, such a complicated ceremony courting is! I am a lucky woman to have found a love so pure!" Marianna cried again. She seemed to have a penchant for drama.

"Hey, it's not my fault the chick doesn't know awesome when she sees it!" Julchen defended. "Anyway, look Mik- if you wanna try and get through to her I'm not stopping you. We're out of ideas right now anyway. I'm just saying you won't get anything out of it except for some good party stories." At that, the Prussian stopped for a moment. "Actually, that's not that bad to gain. But seriously, that's all." She added.

Mikaela just shrugged. "It's worth a try." She insisted. "Besides- what if all she needs is some Danish charm?" She added with a grin.

"Maybe it's her kink." Julchen laughed. Liesel glared at her from across the table.

"Don't make fun of someone's sexual needs!" She scolded, and Julchen laughed harder. Oh, the time she had found her sister's porn collection… that had been an interesting day.

Mikaela stood up, and Svea raised a brow. "Whatcha doin'?" She questioned. Tiina didn't even look up from the cuddle session.

"I'm going to introduce myself." Mikaela announced, and Julchen perked up.

"This'll be good." She grinned.

Mikaela grinned back and waved before she started walking, and Julchen yelled out to her. "YOU CAN DO IT MIK!" She cheered, and Anicia and Marianna clapped. Svea sighed and rubbed her temples, wondering how in hell these situations took form. Tiina looked up at her with a questioning gaze and Svea pointed to Mikaela, which made the Finn turn to watch the other with curiosity.

Mikaela continued to walk, feeling her new friends' eyes on her back. Surely this would be an experience. At her old school she made friends with lots of people- rejects, cheerleaders, nerds- and she figured that she'd be able to handle this girl. She hadn't yet met anyone who she hadn't managed to wrap around her finger yet, and she didn't plan on that streak ending anytime soon. When she finally found herself standing right next to Nora, she did the next logical thing: sat down next to her and leaned in close.

"Hej." She greeted, smiling.

"Fuck off."

Nora hadn't even looked up from her book, and her voice sounded almost sleepy if it weren't for the venom behind it. Mikaela cocked a brow, shifting a little but not moving.

"Having a bad day?" She asked.

"As of now, yes." The Norwegian responded.

"Aww, why babe?" She half cooed, grinning. That earned a death glare from Nora, who slammed her book shut.

"Because there's this idiot that's tryin' to talk to me." The pretty girl clipped, gathering the book in her arms.

Mikaela laughed. "You're cute. Now come on, what's to lose from talking?"

"Don't call me that, idiot. And maybe sanity, the peace and quiet that was here before you got here- take your pick." The Norwegian said, standing.

"Woah babe, what's the rush?"The Dane asked, standing up as well. "Where are we going?"

"If you honestly expected me to tell you, you're stupider than I thought." She said, rolling her sapphire blue eyes. Mikaela thought they sparkled beautifully, and coupled with her pouting, glossy lips she looked like a model. A very pissy model. Her thoughts were interrupted when the other started talking again "And look- I know they told you 'bout me. Don't even bother acting like I don't know you're their new scout."

"Hej, hej, I don't know what any of this scout shit is." She insisted, earning another eyeroll from Nora. "I just wanted to say hi. Look, my name's Mikaela. And now we're friends." She grinned.

"I'm calling you 'idiot'. And no we're not." Nora said, looking fairly stoic and maybe a little annoyed. Inside though, she was somewhat perplexed.

"Okay. Then I'm calling you 'babe', and now we're best friends." Mikaela laughed, walking towards her and cupping her chin so that their eyes met. "Okay?"

Nora's cheeks flushed and she could feel her face burned, and before the other could do anything more she smacked her in the face with the book, successfully knocking her back a few feet.

"Idiot." She mumbled while turning quickly and storming out of the cafeteria. The others watched her go, still amazed from Mikaela having _touched_ her. No one ever got that close before. It was, truly, a brave or suicidal move. Mikaela rubbed her then reddened cheek and whistled, grin not off of her face. She laughed to herself and made her way back to the table, taking a seat again. She sat silent for a moment, and all eyes turned to her.

"Ve, are you okay?" Felicia asked, concerned.

"You alright there Mik?..." Julchen tried. "We're still cool you know…"

"Mikaela, you 'kay?" Svea pressed, wondering how in hell to handle this. Was she hurt? Embarrassed? Fuck that was a bad idea, sending her over there on day one. To her surprise Mikaela sat up straight after a moment and smiled at her, nodding.

"I'd say that went well." She announced, her eyes sparkling as everyone waited for the verdict. "I think she likes me."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: How long has it been, guys? Forever? I apologize for that, I really do. I missed being here D:<p>

So, I decided since life continues to interrupt my writing, I'm trying to type a little everyday to see if maybe I'll actually get things up more often. This is proof that so far, it has helped a little. This chapter has gotten the plot going I hope, and now Norway is officially here! :D I can finally call this a _real_ DenNor :3

Anyway, I feel since I'm posting this blurb under this sentence on "Choke" I should post it here too:

The shortened version is I take concrit because it means a lot to me that you guys care enough to help me improve, and I LOVE reviews (which goes without saying). But I really don't like wangsting (example of wangsting: WHY IS SVEA TALKING? SWEDEN DOESN'T TALK OMGWTFBBQ! [by the way, yes she/he does: her/his hobby is debate]. So please guys, no wangst here!

So, comments are loved more than rainbow unicorns~. That's a lot of love, guys. Please leave one?


	3. Chapter 3

School, for once, actually went more quickly than Mikaela had expected it to.

After the encounter with Nora, she was sure that the rest of the day was going to be pretty fucking dull and was pleasantly surprised when it was kind of enjoyable. Julchen taught her a couple of good ways to mess with the English teacher (which earned a disapproving stare from Svea) and she also pointed out some of the more interesting sharpie-marker graffiti on the locker-room walls (and when Svea and Liesel weren't looking, they added a new one to celebrate). All and all, it was a pretty good first day. It almost made her bitter to have to drive home and deal with the man and the trophy wife again. Ah, well. At least that meant she could start to decorate her room a bit.

"So you really live that close by?" Julchen asked, upon walking back to Mikaela's car. She wasn't going with her today (she had some very important matters to discuss with the trio and the others) but Svea insisted that someone help her back to her car. Julchen took the task, and against Svea's better judgment, she let her. She just hoped Julchen didn't decide to have a repeat of the 'lets-put-shaving-cream-on-the-principle's-car' incident. That wouldn't end well.

"Yeah- I didn't even know though. I actually went the long way this morning." She laughed. "Fucking back roads."

"Yeah, we have a lot of those." The Prussian said. "Sometimes I like to tell Felicia and Rosaline that there are psycho killers or zombies on them and they freak the hell out- it's pretty cute actually. I can't really do it anymore though because it pisses Liesel off."

"Gotcha." Mikaela nodded.

"Yeah- still fun though. I mean, I didn't make them up, they're the town's legends and all."

"Really?"

"Ja. Maybe I'll tell you sometime- unless you're scared." The silverette challenged, grinning.

"I like urban legends," Mikaela said. "Came from a city, we had a lot of them. Of course, I'm pretty sure mine and yours would sound way different."

"We'll have to swap some." Julchen nodded. "Hey, you got a cell phone?"

"Ja."

"Let me see it."

Shrugging, Mikaela took out the phone and handed it over to Julchen, who quickly keyed a number in and handed it back. "Awesome", it read.

"That's my number." The Prussian announced. "Pretty sure you'll get everyone else's eventually."

"Cool-" Mikaela started, and quick sent a text to Julchen's phone. "There's mine."

"Awesome."

Finally, they stopped at Mikaela's car.

"Fuck how much did you spend on this thing?" Julchen asked, jaw dropping. That was a nice car. That was a _really_ nice car.

"Eh, a lot." Mikaela shrugged. "It's my pride 'n joy. Swear to god it's the only good thing that ever happened to me back home." She laughed, somewhat bitterly.

Julchen continued to look it over. "Seriously. That's nice."

"Thanks." Mikaela grinned. "Well, see you later."

"Yep- don't forget to text back the awesome me!" Julchen called, and Mikaela gave an okay and waved before starting her drive back to the new house.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a locked bathroom stall in what was possibly the oldest wing of the school, the sound of lips pressing against each other and hands running over skin rang against the shitty tile walls.<p>

"Ah love you." Svea murmured softly once she broke the kiss, before planting another one on Tiina's jaw while she rubbed her waist.

Taking a shuddering breath in as her eyes fluttered closed, the Finn moaned softly and twisted her fingers into her lover's hair. "I love you too Svea- aah- so much…"

"Yer so lovely." The Swedish woman praised, kissing at the crook of her neck.

"Oh god Svea-" Tiina gasped quietly, biting her lip as the sensitive skin was brushed. "Svea I want you." She breathed.

"Wanna touch ya'." Svea murmured against her neck. "How much time do we have?"

"Dunno- hah…" Tiina replied, losing her words once the other started to nip at the fragile, pale skin.

"M'phone." The Swede mumbled, still working at the girl's neck.

"W-what?..." Tiina asked, struggling to stay coherent. Really, what she wanted to do was just stop thinking so hard and let herself go… it was just so good.

"M'phone. Go'n my pocket 'n get m'phone." Svea elaborated between kisses and nips.

Oh. That made sense. With a soft smile the Finnish teen reached her hand into the other's pocket and felt around, gently brushing where she knew more sensitive skin lay under the fabric and earning a soft gasp from the Svea. Reluctantly, she eventually stopped and grasped the phone, pulling it out of the pocket and clicking the display on.

"Two-twenty four. We still have time before- hngh- everyone clears out…" She mumbled.

"We're gonna have to." Svea replied, biting now at the skin. Slowly she moved her hand to grip the inside of a soft, pale thigh, just barely brushing her fingers a little more inward. "Ah'm not leavin' without finishin' this."

"_Ohfuckyou'reperfect_." Tiina almost wailed, vision blurring. She yanked the Swedish woman even closer, dizzy and wanting and needing as much as she could get for that moment. There would be more later, she knew- right then they both needed a quick fix to keep going.

* * *

><p>The cafeteria was near empty minus the Spanish girl sitting cheerfully on one of the tables, guitar case sitting behind her from music class. She had gotten there first, and therefore she chose where they would have their meeting that day. She supposed it was arbitrary really, but for some reason there was a certain thrill to picking out where everyone was to be stationed. When she saw her girlfriend walk in she waved her over, smiling wide.<p>

"¡Hola querida!" She cooed, earning a soft blush from Maria.

"Don't yell that so loud- someone will hear it." The Italian muttered shyly.

"Aww, querida- everyone already knows that I adore you." She smiled, hopping off of the table and walking over to the other girl, resting her hands on the shorter girl's hips. "You aren't ashamed of that, are you?"

"Of course I'm not you bastard." She huffed. "You're just- so…"

"Passionate?" Anicia pressed, leaning in to that their noses touched. "Does it scare you, querida?" She crooned, their breaths mingling.

"I…" She started, but then fell at a loss for words. Anicia just smiled, leaned in and kissed her, and Maria's arms wrapped around her shoulders almost instinctively.

"I'll always be here to take care of you, querida." She soothed once they parted. "I'll always love you. Don't ever worry about me stopping."

"Don't say big things like that you idiot." Maria half-scolded, arms still wrapped around the Spaniard's shoulders. "You don't know what they mean."

"Ah, but I do querida. I'll prove it to you by always being here; and even if you don't believe me now you will one day. And then I'll just keep being there- forever." She said, and if it weren't for the dead serious expression in her eyes her smile may have made her look almost playful. "_Te amo, Maria- siempre._"

"…Ti amo." She finally mumbled after a long second, unsure of what else to say. Anicia always blew her away when she said these things and left her unsure of how to feel inside. All she knew was that somehow, somewhere along the line, she fell in love with her. And that really, really scared her.

Luckily, she was saved from that runaway train-of-thought by a certain silvertette.

"Woo, take it off!" The self-proclaimed Prussian yelled, clapping at the two. Her display earned a laugh from Anicia, a pout and a string of mumbled curse words from Maria, and a smack to the back of the head from Rosaline.

"Julchen, that's absolutely distasteful." The Austrian scolded, and the other girl just grinned and leaned closer to her.

"What, I can't look at other girls-" She then stopped, and a slow smirk spread across her lips "Are you jealous?" She taunted, snickering.

"Of what?" Rosaline asked. "There's nothing for me to be jealous of, you insufferable dolt."

"You're bad at lying, babe." She laughed, before swinging an arm around the Austrian girl and walking towards the other couple. While Rosaline did squirm, it was a weak attempt at escape, and she walked in step with the other as they approached.

The display made Anicia stop and think about her two friends. Sometimes she wondered when they were going to take things further, or if they were ever going to. Sure, Julchen was headstrong some- most times, come to think of it, but for some reason something always seemed to hold her back from asking the Austrian girl to be hers. If it was fear of rejection, then that was the first time that Anicia had ever seen her so scared.

When the girls were all finally next to one another they took their respective seats, chattering idly about the lectures of that day, the teachers, homework, what would be on T.V that night, and other meaningless nonsense. They were all ignoring the elephant in the room, but it was with good reason- they had to wait for the entire group to get there to discuss that one.

Eventually, the others did begin to file in. Amelia, Alice and Matilda all came in together, followed minutes after by Anya Eliisabet and Raiva. Keiko escorted a half-sleeping Hera to her seat, and Marianna and Jeanne came to the table hand and hand as per usual. Liesel and Felicia came only after they had a snack on the Italian's insistence, and Tori and Felicyta were running slightly late because Felicyta wanted to change clothes. Svea and Tiina were the last to arrive, clothing disheveled and cheeks flushed. The Swede's hair was still tousled in the back from where the Finnish girl had tangled her fingers in it, and the marks on Tiina's neck were already darkening significantly.

"Aww, Svea, next time tell us when there's time for a quickie!" Anicia grinned. Maria blushed wildly, and Svea only nodded her usual, composed nod and gave an affirmative hum. The others quieted down quickly, and once the room was silent she spoke.

"Ah think we all know why we're 'ere." She started. The group nodded slowly, and she continued.

"S'been a while since we've taken a new… member in." She continued, not sure if she had used the right terminology for the unspoken group. It had been a long time, though. Could one blame her? It had been such a long time. The silence in the room let everyone just _try_ and remember the last time, but no one seemed to be able.

"But, s'a necessity. 'F anyone needs to speak she must speak now. 'N we all know we'll listen." Svea assured. "On tha' note, Mikaela Densen- anyone have thoughts?"

"I like her." Julchen grinned. "Girl's got swa-a-ag." She drawled, with a chuckle.

"Use proper language." Rosaline whined, but Alice interjected before Julchen could respond.

"If nothing else, that girl is brave- or maybe a daredevil, but if we are using flattery I suppose brave would be the best term. Did you see what she did with Nora?" The Brit asked.

"Fuck yeah!" Amelia cheered. "That was so cool! She got so-o-o close!"

"It was like, totally awesome! She like totally didn't even _flinch_!" Felicyta exclaimed, before shrinking back behind Tori nervously at Anya's stare.

"She did seem nice." Matilda offered, timidly after her sister's outburst. "I don't see why she shouldn't stay with us. I think she'd be a good friend."

Anya wrinkled her nose a little, but spoke. "If she can respect boundaries I shall like her, da?"

Svea responded to that. "Ah think she's just a flir' in general, but she seems to stop if ya' tell 'er to. Didn't know anythin' 'bout who's taken, an' she respected a relationship if ya' told her it was there. She jus' wans one too, jus' like any other of us."

Anya seemed to take the statement into seriously consideration, and stayed silent as Julchen chuckled almost bitterly.

"I hear that." She mumbled, earning a concerned glance from Rosaline. Felicia spoke.

"It makes sense, ve! I don't think it's bad! Besides, what if she and Nora start dating?" The Italian babbled.

"You're setting high expectations of this girl." Hera yawned, tired eyes fixed on the other.

"Ve, but did you see how long they talked?" Felicia asked. Liesel nodded.

"That was impressive. Usually Nora will completely shut out any strangers, which must mean that she found Mikaela attractive or at least saw _something_ that she liked in her." The German said, helping her girlfriend.

"So now we're just using Mik to get to the ice-bitch?" Julchen asked, slightly annoyed.

"No one said tha', Julchen, it's jus' somethin' to think 'bout. Has nothin' to do with whether or not we keep her, though." Svea said. "Let's focus on _our_ feelins' on her." She redirected gently.

Julchen still wore a scowl. "I like her. We're bros." She declared, almost defiant.

"Oui, she was indeed interesting. I would like to see her around more." Marianna chimed in to help her friend, looking to Anicia to prompt her to speak, too.

"Sí, sí, she was cool~. We should let her in."

Shit. Julchen wasn't making this easy. Sure, Svea respected what she had to say, but sometimes the Prussian girl pushed her point so hard that some of the more timid girls had a hard time speaking their mind. With a sigh she realized that she would have to do this the hard way and read faces.

"Keiko." She addressed the Japanese girl "What did ya' think?"

"She was very friendly. I do believe that she should stay a while." The girl said, softly. Though her head was bowed as usual, her face showed no signs of her lying. So, the Swede nodded to her and moved down the table.

"Tori, Felicyta? Yer thoughts?"

The Polish girl whispered something to her girlfriend, who nodded a little. "Well, she doesn't like that she doesn't know her…" Tori started. That was typical of Felicyta, so Svea let it pass. "But she said that she seemed alright. I think so, too."

Another nod. "Eliisabet, Raiva?"

"She was fun." The Estonian girl smiled. Raiva nodded in agreement. Svea could almost feel them both thinking about the almost-fight earlier, and she wondered if there was anything else they would have said had Anya not been so near. But, there was no way of knowing what it would be, and quite frankly there was no good way to find out. She moved on.

"Rosaline?"

"She was a good enough person. I believe I could tolerate her." The Austrian responded simply. Svea watched her expression as she talked and determined that she was half-genuine and half-siding with Julchen, which was as much as the Swede was going to get out of her.

"Heraclea, ya' have thoughts?" She asked. The sleepy eyed girl, though she may have looked inattentive, was incredibly aware and very wise. Whenever there was a significant decision to be made they consulted her for a good, solid answer.

With a yawn and a stretch, chest pressed outward as she reached her arms out, she shifted in her chair and looked just as likely to fall asleep now as she had before. "She has been through a lot." She said, tucking a few rogue strands of hair behind her ear.

"Why d'ya say that?" Svea asked, curious.

"Because she has. It's in the way she carries herself, and it's in the way she smiles. You can see it." She insisted.

"That a bad thing?" The Swede asked.

"Why would it be? Haven't you, too, been through quite an ordeal?" She yawned.

At that Tiina stiffened and took her lover's hand abruptly, squeezing it tightly as her face lost some of its colour. Svea returned the gesture before responding. "Ah have. But ah dun understand what yer getting' at."

"I mean to say that you should know that she is a human, with a past and with scars and with flaws, but that is no reason to cast her out. I believe that she is basically good." The Greek girl declared, allowing herself to relax her posture. She seemed to be finished speaking for the moment.

"Alright." Svea agreed. Heraclea spoke somewhat cryptically, bringing up other subjects to point people in the direction of the answer she was trying to give, but by now Svea was good enough at deciphering what she meant to figure out that she was in favour of Mikaela staying.

At that, she turned her attention to Tiina. "What 'bout yoo?" She asked, quietly.

"I'm fine with whatever you decide." She said softly. She still looked uncomfortable and the Swedish girl's heart panged. Poor thing. Whenever someone mentioned _it_ she always looked even more broken than she usually was. Though she knew that Heraclea meant no harm, she found herself feeling upset that she had chosen to bring it up. Trying to calm herself and coax Tiina into giving her thoughts, she took the Finn's hand in both of her own and rubbed gently.

"Baby, jus' tell me what ya' think." Svea urged gently.

Tiina's eyes met her own, tentatively, and her lips just barely parted when she spoke. "I think that she can stay." She said simply. Svea pulled her hand to her lips and pressed a kiss against it gently before speaking again.

"Ya' sure?" She asked, gently. "If yer not we can continue this some other day." She assured. There were perks to being the unspoken leader's lover, and they all knew it. Time stopped for Tiina if Svea thought it needed too. While Svea was an honest leader, and a good one, it was no secret that sometimes her decisions were biased in Tiina's favour.

"Yeah." She said in an almost whisper, with a frail smile. Looking into her eyes Svea could plainly see that she was too far gone for this right now. Her mind was somewhere else, a place that made them both feel ill and needy, and it wouldn't be resolved until later into the night when they were together, in a room with a locked door and on a bed with sweat drenched sheets.

"You can change yer mind whenever ya' need." Svea assured her love gently, causing Julchen to frown. The Swedish woman disregarded it though and turned to address the group, as calm and collected as always.

"Mikaela will stay with us fer now. Ahm sure that she'll be jus' fine, an' if any problems arise in the next week 'er so we'll go from there." She declared.

Everyone present seemed satisfied with the current decision, and very quickly the atmosphere became far more relaxed as the usual conversation picked up. Julchen, however, was left brooding. Why the hell couldn't they have just made this easy? She got along well with the Danish girl- she could just see them checking out girls together, being drinking buddies, messing with Liesel… being lonely together. It would be nice to finally have someone to talk to about that, maybe, after five or seven drinks. Still though, without everyone's consent friendship could be problematic. She was so close! Why couldn't Tiina just suck it up and say "yes Svea, listen to Julchen, she has an awesome idea!"?

Why the fuck did that Finnish bitch always get all of that special attention? The world didn't revolve around her pretty little head or anything. Sometimes, she wondered what the hell Svea could see in the girl. It pissed her off. She was Julchen, the awesome- she could make far better decisions, especially concerning who else was awesome and who was not. She'd make sure Mikaela stuck around, even if Svea's little princess didn't like it. She'd just have to deal- she could always bring up what the Finn had done to Svea, after all. That was a surefire way to get her to shut up fast.

"Nothing will happen." The Prussian said aloud and to herself, with complete conviction. Rosaline looked at her and furrowed her brow, pouting slightly.

"Why do you care so much what happens to her?" She clipped, glossy lips illustrating every word.

"Cause she was cool." Julchen said. "Gotta have cool bros, you know?" She grinned.

"She wasn't that special." Rosaline insisted. "Besides, you have Marianna and Anicia. Isn't that enough?"

"Of course they are- but I mean, Mik's awesome too. The more the merrier, they always say." Julchen shrugged.

Rosaline fell silent for the moment, staring off somewhere. Her shoulders looked tense, and her jaw was set firm, and Julchen found it strange enough that she almost asked what was wrong- she would have, had Anicia not cut her off.

"Julchen, Maria and I are going to get food, wanna come?" She asked, cheerfully. "Marianna and Joan are coming too."

"Hell yeah." Julchen grinned. "Fucking starving." She added. She almost got up before she remembered that Rosaline was still frozen in position.

"Uh… Rosaline?" She asked, a little less loud than usual. The girl gave her a sidelong glance, some hair obscuring her cheek from sight.

"Do you wanna come and get food?" She asked, knowing that she had her attention. "Come on, you can sit in the awesome me's lap all the way there." She grinned, playfully, hoping for a reaction.

"You're a narcissist." She said, more weakly than usual, but stood up and stood next to Julchen.

"I know babe." The Prussian laughed, sliding an arm around her waist. This time the darker haired girl didn't struggle, and she allowed herself to be held and led out to the parking lot by the other. Anicia and Marianna met each other's eyes, and the look they gave was some mix between wondering if their other dearest friend was oblivious and attempting to predict how much longer it would be before something finally happened between the two.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been a while, I know. I tried to make this at least a little quicker than the last one. Anyway, so here is the next installment of Gangrene, I hope that there was enough substance here to at least entertain you guys. I swear this is moving along, it really is. I'm quite glad about that, actually.<p>

I chickened out on the smutty bit here. There will be smut eventually, just a heads up, but it just didn't make it into this chapter. In my mind, Sweden and Finland are nymphomaniacs. Or maybe everyone is. I don't really know. They all like sex, what else can be said? No judging!

I am totally incoherent right now. I'm going to stop that little tangent right there, before I say any other bad sounding things. Moving on. I have left a couple of hints to stuff that happened and stuff that will happen here and there, so hopefully I have piqued your interest.

Reviews are much loved, but as always be moderately gentle. I would appreciate it.


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